Alenka Sottler (born 24 October 1958) is a Slovene

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

. She lives and works in Ljubljana as a freelance illustrator and is a member of New York Society of Illustrators. She has illustrated over 50 books for children and adults, for which she received numerous awards and honours including her second nomination for the

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 2014.Slovenia's Best for Young Readers
by the

Slovenian Book Agency The Slovenian Book Agency ( often abbreviated to ''JAK'' or ''JAKRS'') is an autonomous government agency in Slovenia that was created to promote the importance of books and reading in Slovenia and beyond. The Agency was created in 2008 and began t ...

Life and career

Alenka Sottler was born in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, the capital city of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. Her father,

Gorazd Sotler Gorazd Sotler né Sottler (July 1, 1930 – April 21, 1987) was a Slovene academic sculptor. He lived and worked in Ljubljana. Life Gorazd Sotler was born on July 1, 1930, in Šentrupert na Dolenjskem. His family later moved to Ljubljana. As ...

, was a sculptor, a pupil of the prominent Croatian sculptor Antun Augustinčič and her mother worked for Slovenia's leading newspaper and printing company,

Delo ''Delo'' () is a business oriented online media in Ukraine, belonging to ekonomika+ media holding. ''Delo'' was the first daily in Ukraine, publishing its real print circulation (13.000 - 15.000) and trying to introduce Western editorial and b ...

. Alenka received her first informal training in drawing and sculpture in her father's studio. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana (1976–1981) and successfully finished her postgraduate study in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana in 1983. From 1988, she works as freelance painter/ illustrator for the best Slovene and foreign publishers and magazines, including Mladinska knjiga, the largest and leading Slovene publisher. In 2011, she was awarded the title of Assistant Professor of Painting by the University of Ljubljana. She has illustrated more than 50 books and produced many illustrations for children's magazines. An important part of her output is devoted to fairytales, both modern (

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

Svetlana Makarovič Svetlana Makarovič (born 1 January 1939) is a Slovenian writer of prose, poetry, children's books, and picture books, and is also an actress, illustrator and chanteuse. She has been called "The First Lady of Slovenian poetry." She is also noted ...

) and classic (Folk Tales from Around the World,

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

). Her black-white illustrations for Folk Tales from Around the World signalled her mastery and a number of awards followed. Her work is inventive, visually appealing and drawn with faultless confidence. She is contemporary in style but also well-versed in the history of visual imagery and the imagery of power, meaning and clarity. In recent years she has mainly illustrated poetry and fairytales and made original graphics/engravings for collections of poems by Malcolm de Chazal, and works on paper inspired by literature and poetry. Today, she lives and works in Ljubljana.

Awards

* 2016 ** Illustrators 58 Gold Medal,

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators (SoI) is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. Since absorbing the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (M ...

, New York, USA * 2014 **

nomination, Mexico City, Mexico * 2013 **

Prešeren Award The Prešeren Award (), also called the Grand Prešeren Award (), is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia. It is awarded each year by the Prešeren Fund () to two eminent Slovene art ...

(Small), Republic of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia * 2012 ** Merit /3x3 Illustration ProShow No.9 / 3x3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, New York, USA **

nomination, Denmark * 2011 ** "Getting Inside The Outsider", House of Illustration and The Folio Society's Inaugural Book Illustration Competition finalist, London, UK ** The White Ravens for the book The Emperor and the Rose,

Internationale Jugendbibliothek The International Youth Library (IYL) (, IJB) in Munich is a library that specializes in the collection of children and youth literature from around the world in order to make them available to the public, focusing on the international community. ...

, München, Germany * 2010 ** Hinko Smrekar Award at the 9th Slovenian Biennial of Illustration, Ljubljana, Slovenia ** Merit at the 3x3 Magazine International Professional Show, New York, USA ** Grand Prix at the 3rd Croatian Biennal of Illustration, Zagreb, Croatia ** The

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award () is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002). The prize is five million SEK, making it ...

nomination, Stockholm, Sweden * 2008 ** International Board on Books for Young People ( IBBY) Honour List, Denmark ** Italija, Bologna, Award of Excellence, Bologna Book Fair, Italy ** Hinko Smrekar Award at the 8th Slovenian Biennial of Illustration, Ljubljana, Slovenia * 2007 ** Levstik Award for Illustration, Ljubljana, Slovenia ** Certificate of Merit for being selected for the 49th Annual Exhibition at the SI New York, USA ** Golden Apple at the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava 2007, Bratislava, Slovakia * 2006 ** Certificate of Merit for being selected for the 48th Annual Exhibition at the SI New York, USA ** First Prize for illustration at the 6th Slovenian Biennial of Illustration in Slovenia ** Award for the most beautiful book at the Slovenian Book Fair, Ljubljana, Slovenia * 2005 ** Award of Excellence for being selected in the Emperor's New Illustrations, Bologna Book Fair, Italy ** Certificate of Merit for being selected for the 47th Annual Exhibition at the SI New York, USA * 2002 ** First Prize for illustration at the 5th Slovenian Biennial of Illustration in Slovenia * 2001 ** Award of Excellence at the BEIJ01 – Biennial of European Illustration in Japan * 1999 ** Trojlistok Grand Prix of the Children's Jury at the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, Slovakia * 1993 ** Hinko Smrekar Award at the 1st Slovenian Biennial of Illustration in Slovenia * 1981 **

Prešern Award Presern or Prešern is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bojan Prešern (born 1962), Slovenian rower * Carole Presern, British medical administrator {{surname ...

for students, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Selected Illustrated Works

* ''Pesem za liro'' (Poem for Lyra), written by

Bina Štampe Žmavc Bina Štampe Žmavc (born October 4, 1951, in Celje) is a Slovene writer, poet, director and translator. Biography She was born on October 4, 1951, in Celje. She visited both primary and grammar schools in Celje. After the grammar school she s ...

, 2016 * ''Ljubim tvoj medeni srh'' (I Love Your Honey Shudder), written by Mateja Blaznik, 2014 * ''Zašto se baka ljuti?'' (Why Is Granny Angry?), written by Lela B. Njatin, 2014 * ''Tujec'' (L'étranger), written by

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

, 2012 * ''Prividi'' (Mirages), written by Niko Grafenauer, 2009 * ''Cesar in roža'' (The Emperor and the Rose), written by

, 2009 * ''Svetlanine pravljice'' (Svetlana's Fairytales), written by

, 2008 * ''Tri pesnitve'' (Three Poems), written by Andrej Brvar, 2009 * ''Pepelka'' (

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

), 2005 * ''Ko pridejo angelčki'' (When the Little Angels Come), written by Dim Zupan, 2004 * ''Svetovne pravljice'' (Fairy Tales of the World), 2004 * ''Mehurčki'' (Bubbles), written by

Oton Župančič Oton Župančič (; January 23, 1878 – June 11, 1949; pseudonym ''Gojko'' ) was a Slovene language, Slovene poet, translator, and playwright. He is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of modernism in ...

, 2004 * ''Anastazija Krupnik'' ( Anastasia Krupnik), written by

Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; born March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of many books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet'', '' Number the Stars'', the Anastasia series, and '' Rabble Starkey''. ...

, 2002 * ''Velik sončen dan: izbrane pesmi za otroke in mladino'' (A Big Sunny Day: selected poems for children and youth), written by Neža Maurer, 2000

References

External links

Alenka Sottler's official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sottler, Alenka Slovenian children's book illustrators Living people 1958 births Artists from Ljubljana Levstik Award laureates University of Ljubljana alumni 20th-century Slovenian illustrators 21st-century Slovenian illustrators Slovenian women illustrators Slovenian women children's book illustrators Slovenian magazine illustrators Illustrators of fairy tales Slovenian fantasy artists